Canada postpones Three Amigos summit amid Keystone XL tension

OTTAWA Jan 15 (Reuters) - Canada has quietly postponed a
summit with the leaders of the United States and Mexico amid
tensions over the construction of TransCanada Corp's
Keystone XL pipeline and other issues, sources indicated on
Thursday.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had been due to host
U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Pena
Nieto for the annual meeting of the so-called Three Amigos, and
a date had tentatively been set for late February, said two
sources familiar with the plans.

Canadian officials recently reached out to Washington and
Mexico City to say late February would not work, but gave no
reasons, the sources said.

Jason MacDonald, Harper's chief spokesman, said no date had
been formally announced.

"We intend to host the meeting later in the year," he said.

If Obama did come to Canada he would no doubt face a raft of
pointed questions about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which
would run from the Alberta oil sands to the United States.

Canada wants the project to go ahead and has expressed
impatience that Washington is still mulling the fate of the
pipeline after six years of study. Environmental activists are
putting heavy pressure on Obama to veto Keystone XL.

Canadian Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford told
reporters in Washington on Wednesday that he still believed the
pipeline would be approved one day - a strong hint that Canada
is looking beyond Obama, who will leave office in early 2017.
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